I haven't posted on this blog for over six months now. Its not that I haven't been drinking beer and partaking in craft beer related adventures; it's more that I got bored with just reviewing beers and bars and breweries. I feel like there is so much more to craft beer than just drinking delicious beer and taking brewery tours, and I think I am finally ready to blog about beer in a more nuanced light.
I think what attracts me most to craft beer is the culture surrounding it. The past year has been insane for Chicago and most of the surrounding suburbs. I have gotten to see so many awesome breweries begin to make a name for themselves in the Chicagoland area, and what makes these breweries so awesome are the stories that surround their inspiration/inception. Chicago and the suburbs have such a rich history and I think a lot of the area's brewers have really embraced this fact as they build their brands.
All that being said though, the rest of this post is going to involve a lot of venting and complaining on my part. While I have the fortune of living a short forty minute drive from Chicago, I also have the misfortune of living forty minutes from Chicago and all its craft beer glory. I also happen to live in the South Suburbs, near Joliet, which I'm sure many people know is almost completely devoid of any breweries or brew pubs. I think the closest brew pub to me is probably Flossmoor Station which still takes a good twenty five minutes across I-80. I'm also about a thirty five minute drive from Solemn Oath brewery in Naperville and thirty minutes from Emmett's in Downers Grove. Basically, every good brewery around my house takes about thirty minutes to get to. Now, I'm not saying the drive to these breweries isn't worth it, because it is, but whenever I want a quick growler fill for a party or a football game I actually have to plan a trip out. It's not like running to the store for a six pack. I am a huge fan of the drink local aspect of craft beer. And while I'm all for supporting Illinois craft beer in general, Naperville, Downer's Grove, and Flossmoor don't exactly fit my definition of "local." I can't help but feel left out of the community I have grown so attached to.
What I'm seriously lacking in my life right now is a truly local watering hole. A unique place I can take my out-of-town friends to, and take personal pride in. And I think a local brew pub is the only thing that can fill that void, for me at least. I want a relaxing place where I can go grab a pint close to home after a long day at work, without having to compete with televisions and people watching whatever sporting event is on at the time. The community aspect of craft beer is what has drawn me to it over the past year and a half. People gather socially around local brew pubs in a way that is seriously lacking from our mainstream culture. There is very little room for appreciating the company one keeps in the sports bars that make up a majority of the night life in the area I live in. Everyone is out to get a drunk as possible as loudly as possible with very little regard for what they're drinking and who they're drinking it with. I also live in an area that is ripe with history, a history that many people are unaware of, or are simply forgetting.
So consider this my plea for some aspiring brewer somewhere to open a brewery in the Lockport/Joliet area. Rest assured you'd have at least one loyal fan, so long as the beer is good.
Cheers.
